Uplink scheduling apparatus and method based on uplink report in wireless communication system

ABSTRACT

A method and an apparatus for scheduling uplink transmissions according to a maximum transmission power and Power Headrooms (PHs) reported by a User Equipment (UE) are provided. A method for reporting the PHs for carriers used by a terminal in a mobile communication system supporting carrier aggregation includes generating a message including the PHs along with indicators indicating whether a real transmission is scheduled on an uplink data channel of corresponding carrier, and including, when the real transmission is scheduled, a maximum transmission power used for calculating the PHs in the generated message.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation application of prior application Ser.No. 15/720,678, filed on Sep. 29, 2017, which has issued as U.S. Pat.No. 10,231,195 on Mar. 12, 2019 and is a continuation application ofprior U.S. application Ser. No. 15/278,524, filed on Sep. 28, 2016,which has issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,788,285 on Oct. 10, 2017 and is acontinuation application of prior U.S. application Ser. No. 13/288,305,filed on Nov. 3, 2011, which has issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,461,805 onOct. 4, 2016 and claimed the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) of aKorean patent application number 10-2010-0109664, filed on Nov. 5, 2010in the Korean Intellectual Property Office and of a Korean patentapplication number 10-2010-0116958, filed on Nov. 23, 2010 in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to mobile communications. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatusfor scheduling uplink transmissions based on a maximum transmissionpower and a power headroom reported by a User Equipment (UE).

2. Description of the Related Art

Mobile communication systems have been developed to provide subscriberswith voice communication services while on the move using wirelesscommunication services. With the rapid advancement of technologies, themobile communication systems have evolved to support high speed datacommunication services as well as the standard voice communicationservices.

Recently, the next generation mobile communication system of the 3^(rd)Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), Long Term Evolution (LTE) systemis being developed. The LTE system realizes high-speed packet-basedcommunication at about 100 Mbps. Regarding commercialization of the LTEsystem, a discussion is being held regarding two schemes of the LTEsystem: one scheme for reducing a number of nodes located in acommunication path by simplifying a configuration of a network, andanother scheme for maximally approximating wireless protocols towireless channels.

Unlike voice service, in providing data service a resource is allocatedaccording to an amount of data to be transmitted and a channelcondition. Accordingly, in the wireless communication system, such as acellular communication system, a scheduler manages resource allocationin consideration of the resource amount, the channel condition, and theamount of data to be transmitted. This is also the case in the LTEsystem as one of the next generation mobile communication systems suchthat the scheduler located in a base station manages and allocates theradio resources used by the LTE system.

Typically, the UE transmits scheduling information to an evolved Node B(eNB) for uplink scheduling in the LTE system. The schedulinginformation includes a Buffer Status Report (BSR) and a Power HeadroomReport (PHR). The PHR is used, when the eNB assigns resources the UE, tolimit the transmit power of the UE to a maxim transmission power. If thePHR is not accurate, it is difficult for the eNB to assign and scheduleresources effectively and the inaccurate PHR may cause interference withother transmissions and thus it is beneficial for the eNB to have theability to precisely interpret the PHR reported by the UE.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present invention are to address at least theabove-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at leastthe advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the presentinvention is to provide a method, apparatus, and system for processingthe scheduling information efficiently in a mobile communication system.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method,apparatus, and system for processing the scheduling information betweena User Equipment (UE) and an evolved NodeB (eNB) efficiently.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method,apparatus, and system for reporting power headroom and maximumtransmission power of a UE efficiently in a mobile communication system.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a method forreporting Power Headrooms (PHs) for carriers of a terminal in a mobilecommunication system supporting carrier aggregation is provided. Themethod includes containing the PHs with indicators in an extended PowerHeadroom Report (PHR), the indicator indicating whether the PH is basedon a real transmission on an uplink data channel, and containing, if thePH is based on the real transmission on the uplink data channel, amaximum transmission power used for calculation of the PH in theextended PHR.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an apparatusfor reporting Power Headrooms (PHs) for carriers used by a terminal in amobile communication system supporting carrier aggregation is provided.The apparatus includes a power calculator for calculating the PHs, and acontroller for containing the PHs with indicators in an extended PowerHeadroom Report (PHR), the indicator indicating whether the PH is basedon a real transmission on an uplink data channel, and for containing, ifthe PH is based on the real transmission on the uplink data channel, amaximum transmission power used for calculation of the PH in theextended PHR.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method forreceiving Power Headrooms (PHs) for carriers of a base station in amobile communication system supporting carrier aggregation is provided.The method includes determining the PHs with indicators in an extendedPower Headroom Report (PHR), the indicator indicating whether the PH isbased on a real transmission on an uplink data channel, and determining,if the PH is based on the real transmission on uplink data channel, amaximum transmission power used for calculation of the PH in theextended PHR.

In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, anapparatus for receiving Power Headrooms (PHs) for carriers of a basestation in a mobile communication system supporting carrier aggregationis provided. The apparatus includes a controller for determining the PHswith indicators in an extended Power Headroom Report (PHR), theindicator indicating whether the PH is based on a real transmission onan uplink data channel, and for determining, if the PH is based on thereal transmission on uplink data channel, a maximum transmission powerused for calculation of the PH in the extended PHR, and a scheduler forscheduling the uplink data channel according to the PHs and maximumtransmission powers.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses exemplary embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainexemplary embodiments of the present invention will be more apparentfrom the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an architecture of a mobilecommunication system according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a protocol stack of a mobilecommunication system according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary situation of carrieraggregation in a mobile communication system according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating formats of payload of Power HeadroomReport (PHR) Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary information format forreporting a Power Headroom (PH) and P_(CMAX) according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a User Equipment (UE) procedure foruplink scheduling method according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an evolved Node B (eNB) procedure foruplink scheduling method according to an exemplary embodiment of presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a UE accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an eNBaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a PHR MAC CE foruse in an uplink scheduling method according to an exemplary embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a signaling diagram illustrating uplink signaling procedurebetween a UE and an eNB according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a UE procedure for uplink schedulingmethod according to the second exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbersare used to depict the same or similar elements, features, andstructures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings isprovided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of exemplaryembodiments of the invention as defined by the claims and theirequivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in thatunderstanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the embodiments described hereincan be made without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions andconstructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are notlimited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by theinventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of theinvention. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that the following description of exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention is provided for illustration purpose only and not forthe purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claimsand their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes referenceto one or more of such surfaces.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a method andapparatus for a User Equipment (UE), which may also be referred to as aterminal, to report its Power Headroom (PH) to facilitate uplinktransmission through multiple uplink carriers in a mobile communicationsystem supporting carrier aggregation. Particularly, exemplaryembodiments of the present invention propose a method and apparatus forreporting the maximum transmission power and headroom of the UE whileminimizing overhead.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an architecture of a mobilecommunication system according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a radio access network of the mobile communicationsystem includes evolved Node Bs (eNBs) 105, 110, 115, and 120, aMobility Management Entity (MME) 125, and a Serving-Gateway (S-GW) 130.The User Equipment (UE) 135, which may also be referred to as aterminal, connects to an external network via the eNBs 105, 110, 115,and 120 and the S-GW 130.

The eNBs 105, 110, 115, and 120 correspond to legacy node Bs of aUniversal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). The eNBs 105, 110,115, and 120 allow the UE to establish a radio link and are responsiblefor more complicated functions, as compared to the legacy node B. In theLTE system, all the user traffic, including real time services such asVoice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), are provided through a sharedchannel. Thus there is a need for a device which is located in the eNBfor scheduling data according to state information of the UEs.

In order to secure a data rate of up to 100 Mbps, the Long TermEvolution (LTE) system adopts Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing(OFDM) as a radio access technology. Also, the LTE system adoptsAdaptive Modulation and Coding (AMC) to determine a modulation schemeand a channel coding rate in adaptation to the channel condition of theUE. S-GW 130 is an entity for providing data bearers so as to establishand release data bearers under the control of the MME 125. MME 125provides various control functions and is connected to a plurality ofeNBs 105, 110, 115, and 120.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a protocol stack of a mobilecommunication system according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the protocol stack of the mobile communicationsystem, which is an LTE system, includes Packet Data ConvergenceProtocol (PDCP) layer 205 and 240, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer 210and 235, Medium Access Control (MAC) layer 215 and 230, and Physical(PHY) layer 220 and 225. The PDCP layer 205 and 240 is responsible forInternet Protocol (IP) header compression/decompression. The RLC layer210 and 235 is responsible for segmenting a PDCP Protocol Data Unit(PDU) into segments of appropriate size for Automatic Repeat Request(ARQ) operations. The MAC layer 215 and 230 is responsible forestablishing a connection to a plurality of RLC entities so as tomultiplex the RLC PDUs into MAC PDUs and demultiplex the MAC PDUs intoRLC PDUs. The PHY layer 220 and 225 performs channel coding on the MACPDU and modulates the MAC PDU into OFDM symbols in order to transmit theOFDM symbols over a radio channel or performs demodulating andchannel-decoding on received OFDM symbols and delivers the decoded datato a higher layer.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary situation of carrieraggregation in a mobile communication system according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, typically an eNB can use multiple carriers fortransmitting and receiving in different frequency bands. For example, aneNB 305 can be configured to use a carrier 315 with a center frequencyf1 and a carrier 310 with a center frequency f3. If carrier aggregationis not supported, a UE 330 has to transmit/receive data using only oneof the carriers 310 and 315. However, the UE 330 having the carrieraggregation capability can transmit/receive data using both the carriers310 and 315.

An eNB can increase an amount of resources allocated to a UE having thecarrier aggregation capability according to a channel condition of theUE so as to improve a data rate of the UE. In a case where a cell isconfigured with one downlink carrier and one uplink carrier, the carrieraggregation can be understood to be as if the UE communicates data viamultiple cells. With the use of carrier aggregation, the maximum datarate increases in proportion to the number of aggregated carriers.

In the following description of the present exemplary embodiments, thephrase “the UE receives data through a certain downlink carrier ortransmits data through a certain uplink carrier” means that the UEtransmits or receives data through control and data channels provided ina cell corresponding to center frequencies and frequency bands of thedownlink and uplink carriers. Although the description of the presentexemplary embodiments is directed to an LTE mobile communication system,the present invention is not limited thereto and can be applied to othersimilar types of wireless communication systems supporting carrieraggregation.

When a UE uses a plurality of aggregated carriers, such a case may beunderstood as the UE having a plurality of serving cells. A cell or aservice cell can be configured with downlink and uplink resources, andthe uplink resource can exist depending on an uplink design. The servicecells are categorized into Primary Cell (PCell) and Secondary Cell(SCell). The PCell is a cell that is always in an active state, and theSCell is a cell that is in one of the active and an inactive state underthe control of the eNB. If a SCell is in the inactive state, then thereis no data transmission/reception through the cell. In this case, the UEturns off the power to the parts related to the serving cell in inactivestate in order to save power consumption. In the following descriptionsof the exemplary embodiments, the term “cell” is used interchangeablywith the term “serving cell.”

In the LTE mobile communication system, in order to prevent the uplinktransmission from interfering with transmissions in other frequencybands, the uplink transmission power is limited to an appropriate level.That is, spurious emissions, which are unintended transmissions on radiofrequencies, should be reduced in order to fulfill a Spurious EmissionRequirement. For this purpose, the UE calculates uplink transmissionpower with a predetermined function and performs an uplink transmissionat the calculated uplink transmission power. For example, the UEcalculates a request uplink transmission power value by inputtingparameters, such as scheduling information, an allocated resourceamount, a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS), and path loss, forestimating a status or a condition of a channel, and then performs theuplink transmission using the calculated request uplink transmissionpower value. The uplink transmission power of the UE is limited to themaximum transmission power of the UE and, if the calculated transmissionpower is greater than the maximum transmission power of the UE, the UEperforms the uplink transmission with the maximum transmission powerrather than the calculated transmission power. In this case, since theuplink transmission is performed with a power less than the calculatedtransmission power, a degradation of uplink transmission quality mayresult.

Accordingly, in order to avoid the degradation of the uplinktransmission quality, the eNB performs scheduling such that therequested transmission power does not exceed the maximum transmissionpower. However, some parameters such as path loss cannot be determinedby the eNB, and thus, the UE provides a report on its Power Headroom(PH) to the eNB by transmitting a Power Headroom Report (PHR) message.The PH is the difference between the maximum transmission power(P_(CMAX)) and the requested uplink transmission power, which will bealso referred to as a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH)transmission power. P_(CMAX) is a variable and determined by the UEaccording to the following equations and description.

P_(CMAX) is a value selected between a minimum value and a maximum valueas shown in formula (1):P _(CMAX_L) ≤P _(CMAX) ≤P _(CMAX_H)  (1)

In formula (1), P_(CMAX_L) and P_(CMAX_H) are calculated by equations(2) and (3):P _(CMAX_L)=MIN{P _(EMAX) −ΔT _(C) ,P _(PowerClass) −MPR−A−MRP−ΔT_(C)}  (2),P _(CMAX_H)=MIN{P _(EMAX) ,P _(PowerClass)}  (3)where P_(EMAX), ΔT_(C), P_(PowerClass), MPR, and A-MRP are specified in3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 36.101 and can be summarized asfollows. P_(EMAX) denotes the maximum allowed UE output power in thecurrent cell, as determined by the eNB. P_(PowerClass) indicates a powerclass of the UE that denotes the maximum transmission power determinedby physical properties of the UE. The power class of the UE isdetermined at the manufacturing stage, and the UE notifies the eNB ofthe power class through RRC signaling.

MPR, A-MPR, and ΔT_(C) are the parameters defining the threshold valuethat is used for adjusting the maximum transmission power in order tomeet the predetermined spurious emission requirements. MPR is a valuedetermined by the resource amount allocated to the UE (i.e., an amountof bandwidth allocated to the UE) and a modulation scheme. The value ofMPR depends on an amount of a transmission resource and a modulationscheme, which are specified in table 6.2.3-1 of the 3GPP TS 36.101.A-MPR is a value determined by a frequency band used for uplinktransmission, local characteristics, and an uplink bandwidth, and isdefined in tables 6.2.4-1, 6.2.4-2, and 6.2.4-3 of the 3GPP TS 36.101.A-MPR is used for a frequency band that may be particularly sensitive toadjacent spurious emissions due to the local characteristics andfrequency band characteristics. ΔT_(C) is the parameter for allowingadditional transmission power adjustment in a case where uplinktransmissions are at a frequency band edge. If the uplink transmissionis performed in the lowest 4 MHz or the highest 4 MHz of a bandwidth ofa certain frequency band, then the UE sets ΔT_(C) to 1.5 dB and,otherwise, sets ΔT_(C) to 0.

As shown in formula (1), since P_(CMAX) is a value that the UE can setrandomly between a maximum value and a minimum value, it may not beenough for the eNB to make scheduling decision only with the PH. Forexample, the UE reports a PH calculated with the P_(CMAX) set to X, butif the eNB misinterprets the P_(CMAX) as Y, then the scheduling decisionwill be made incorrectly. The problem of the incorrect schedulingdecision can be worse when the eNB performs scheduling for amulticarrier transmission of the UE. Unlike the single carriertransmission, in which the eNB can allocate additional transmissionpower to the UE using the PH reported by the UE in spite of an incorrectP_(CMAX), the eNB cannot calculate the PUSCH transmission power from thePH since the PH is just the difference between the unknown P_(CMAX) andthe PUSCH transmission power. The eNB cannot determine a totaltransmission power in a multicarrier transmission in a state where thePUSCH transmission powers of individual cells are not known.Accordingly, in order to perform scheduling for the multicarrier uplinktransmissions, the eNB is provided and uses the P_(CMAX) as well as thePH.

In order to address the above problem, the present exemplary embodimentsof the present invention provide a method for reporting the P_(CMAX)along with the PH, wherein the P_(CMAX) is used to calculate the PH.Since the P_(CMAX) is reported so as to allow the eNB to interpret thePH correctly, it is of little use to transmit or report only theP_(CMAX). Transmitting or reporting only the P_(CMAX) also has adrawback in that a new MAC Control Element (CE) for transmitting controlinformation of the MAC layer should be defined. In order to overcomethis problem, the exemplary embodiments of the present invention providea method for reporting the P_(CMAX) in a PHR MAC CE. Also, in order toreduce the overhead for processing the P_(CMAX) report, the UE reportsthe P_(CMAX) only when a predetermined condition is fulfilled.

That is, the P_(CMAX) is transmitted to the cells in which PHs arereported via the PHR only when the eNB cannot infer the P_(CMAX). Forexample, there can be a case where the same P_(CMAX) is configured inseveral cells and, in this case, the P_(CMAX) is reported to only one ofthese cells. The same P_(CMAX) can be set in the multiple cells when thecells are operating in the same frequency band. In this case, the samemaximum transmission power reductions (MPR, A-MPR, and ΔT_(C)) areapplied, the same P_(CMAX) is set for the cells. In the cells having noactual PUSCH transmission, the same P_(CMAX) is applied for reasons tobe described later.

Here, the PH is the difference between the P_(CMAX) and the PUSCHtransmission power. Accordingly, the PH for the cell having no PUSCHtransmission is not calculated. However, since the eNB may schedule aPUSCH transmission in a cell that has no PUSCH transmission currently tooccur in the near future, it is necessary to report the PH for the cellhaving no PUSCH transmission currently. In the exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention, the PH for the cell having no current PUSCHtransmission is calculated using a predetermined transmission format.Since the purpose of the PH report for the cell having no current PUSCHtransmission is to trace a variation of a path loss of the cell or avariation of accumulated values of transmission power control commands,the P_(CMAX) is less important in such a case. In the exemplaryembodiments of the present invention, the P_(CMAX) of the cell having nocurrent PUSCH transmission is a predetermined value, and thus, is nottransmitted and is not determined according to a P_(CMAX) report for thecells, thereby reducing overhead of the eNB.

In the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, one of tworeserved bits of the PH, the reserved bit being referred to as a P bit,is used for the P_(CMAX) report in a certain cell in order to indicatewhether the P_(CMAX) is reported or not. The other bit of the tworeserved bits, the other bit being referred to as an V bit, is used toindicate whether the PH is calculated based on the actual PUSCHtransmission.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating formats of payload of extended PHR MACCE according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the PHR includes PH information 415 and P_(CMAX)information 420 for a plurality of cells. The PH information 415 andP_(CMAX) information 420 for one cell can be disposed at a distance fromeach other in the payload, as shown in Format 1, or may be disposedadjacent to each other in the payload, as shown in Format 2. In the PHinformation 415 for a certain cell, a P bit 405 indicates whether thePHR includes a P_(CMAX) for the corresponding cell, and an V bit 410indicates whether the PH information 415 is calculated based on theactual PUSCH transmission. The P bit 405 being set to 0 indicates thatthe PHR includes the P_(CMAX) for the corresponding cell, and theP_(CMAX) information 420 can be arranged at an appropriate position inthe payload according to an arrangement order of the cells, as shown inFormat 1. Alternatively, the information P_(CMAX) 420 can be disposed tobe right after the PH information of the corresponding cell, as shown inFormat 2. If the P bit 405 is set to 1, this indicates that the PHRincludes no P_(CMAX) for the corresponding cell and the P_(CMAX) for thecorresponding cell is set to a predetermined value, for example, the Vbit 410 is set to 1, and is identical with the P_(CMAX) of other cells.In other words, the PH information 415 is not associated with actualPUSCH transmission and thus a predetermined value of P_(CMAX) is used.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary information format forreporting a PH and a P_(CMAX) according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the PHR includes the PH information for a PCell, aSCell 1, a SCell 2, a SCell 3, and a SCell 4. For the purpose ofconvenience, the PHR of FIG. 5 is depicted in Format 1 of FIG. 4. Here,the SCell 3 does not include a PUSCH transmission, and the other cellsinclude PUSCH transmissions. The P_(CMAX) of the SCell 1 is equal to theP_(CMAX) of the PCell, and the P_(CMAX) of the SCell 2 is equal to theP_(CMAX) of the SCell 4. Here, the PH information is arranged such thatthe PH information of the PCell is followed by the PH information of theSCells in a sequential manner. That is, the PH information is arrangedaccording to an order of PCell, SCell 1, SCell 2, SCell 3, and SCell 4.The P_(CMAX) is transmitted in the cell at the start of the list or inthe cell having the lowest cell index from among the cells for which thesame P_(CMAX) is set. That is, from among the PCell, the SCell 1, theSCell 2, the SCell 3, and the SCell 4, the P_(CMAX) is transmitted inthe PCell and the SCell 1.

That is, the UE sets the P bits to be 0 for the PH information for thecells in which the P_(CMAX) is reported, and sets the P bits to be 1 forthe PH information for the rest of the cells. For the cells in whichP_(CMAX) is not reported, P_(CMAX) information 515 and 525 for the cellsin which the PHs are calculated according to the actual PUSCHtransmission (i.e., the SCell 1 and the SCell 2) are equal to theP_(CMAX) information 505 and 510. The P_(CMAX) information 505 and 510is for the cells for which the PHs are arranged prior to the cells inwhich P_(CMAX) information are reported, and are the closest cells orcells that have a low cell index and are closest, i.e., the P_(CMAX)information 505 and 510 of the PCell and SCell. In a case of the SCell1, since the PCell fulfills the above described conditions for the cellsin which P_(CMAX) is reported (i.e., the cell index of the PCell is 0),the P_(CMAX) 515 of the SCell 1 is equal to the P_(CMAX) 505 of thePCell. Likewise, the P_(CMAX) 525 of the SCell 4 is equal to theP_(CMAX) 510 of the SCell 2. Among the cells in which the P_(CMAX) isnot reported, such as the cell for which the PH is calculated accordingto the virtual transmission format other than actual PUSCH transmission,i.e., the SCell 3, which is the cell with V bit set to 1, the P_(CMAX)520 is set to a predetermined value. The predetermined value can beP_(CMAX_H).

Although, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, it is assumed that the size of theP_(CMAX) information is 5 bits or 6 bits, the present invention is notlimited thereto, and the size of the P_(CMAX) information can be greaterthan or less than 5 bits. The P_(CMAX) information can be expressed in aformat indicating the maximum value of P_(CMAX), i.e., the powerreduction in P_(CMAX_H). For example, the index of P_(CMAX) is set to 0for indicating that the P_(CMAX) equal to P_(CMAX_H) or is set to 1 forindicating a value that is reduced by as much as 1 dB from theP_(CMAX_H). In this case, it is possible, with 5 bits, to express theP_(CMAX) obtained by a reduction of up to as much as 31 dB from theP_(CMAX_)H, and 5 bits can be an appropriate length for the size of theP_(CMAX) information in consideration of there being a high probabilityof no power reduction over 31 dB. One of three reserved bits 530 of theP_(CMAX) information can be used to indicate that a larger powerreduction is applied to the P_(CMAX) due to the simultaneoustransmission of another radio technology. If another radio technology,e.g., a CDMA2000 system, is used simultaneously along with the LTEsystem, then the transmission power of the LTE system can be furtherlimited with a notification sent to the eNB scheduler, such that the eNBcan perform scheduling efficiently.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a UE procedure for uplink schedulingmethod according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the UE configures a Release-10 (REL-10) PHRfunction in step 605. The REL-10 PHR function differs from the Release-8(REL-8) PHR function as per a format and a type of information reported.The REL-10 PHR function can be configured through RRC control messagesignaling for activation of REL-10 techniques, such as carrieraggregation. After step 605, the UE waits until PHR generationconditions are fulfilled while performing a predetermined operation. ThePHR generation conditions are fulfilled when there are transmissionresources available for a new uplink transmission, a timer restrictingPHR transmission has expired (or is currently running), and the pathloss of at least one cell, from among the cells fulfilling apredetermined condition, is changed so as to be over a predeterminedthreshold value. Here, the cell fulfilling the predetermined conditioncan be the cell reporting the power headroom from among the cells in anactive state, e.g., the cell for which uplink resource is configured.

If the PHR generation conditions are fulfilled, or met, at step 610,then the UE triggers a PHR process for reporting PHs for the cellsconfigured with uplink resources from among the currently active cellsin step 615. Next, the UE calculates PUSCH transmission powers for thePHR-triggered cells or for cells for which PHs are reported, usingequation (4) in step 620:PUSCH power=10 log₁₀(M _(PUSCH)(i))+P _(O_PUSCH)(j)+α(j)·PL+Δ_(TF)(i)+f(i)  (4)where M_(PUSCH)(i) denotes a value determined by a number of assignedtransmission resources, P_(O_PUSCH)(j) denotes the sum of the offsetsdefined per cell and the offsets defined per UE, PL denotes the pathloss, α(j) denotes the coefficient defined per cell and multiplied withthe path loss, Δ_(TF)(i) denotes the value determined by MSC level, andf(i) denotes the accumulated value of Transmission Power Control (TPC)command. Further discussion of the variable discussed above with respectto equation (4) may be found in the 3GPP TS 36.213.

When calculating the PH for the cell in which the PUSCH is transmittedin a subframe carrying the PHR, the value for the actual PUSCHtransmission is the PUSCH transmission parameter, which is the number ofscheduled transmission resource blocks and a MCS level. In equation (4),the PL refers to the path loss of downlink resources of the cell inassociation with the uplink resources of the cell for which PH iscalculated, and the f(i) refers to the accumulated value of the TPCcommand related to the PUSCH transmission of the cell for which PH iscalculated.

Meanwhile, when calculating the PH of the cell having no PUSCHtransmission in the subframe carrying the PHR, a predetermined value isused as the PUSCH transmission parameter. For example, both the 10 log₁₀and Δ_(TF)(i) can be set to be 0. The PL and the f(i) are set in amanner similar to the case where the PUSCH transmission exists in thesubframe carrying the PHR. For the purpose of convenience, the methodfor calculating the PH of the cell having the PUSCH transmission in thesubframe carrying the PHR is referred to as a PH calculation scheme 1,and the method for calculating the PH of the cell having no PUSCHtransmission in the subframe carrying PHR is referred to as a PHcalculation scheme 2.

Next, the UE determines a P_(CMAX) for each cell in which the PH isreported in step 625. As described above, the UE sets the P_(CMAX) forthe cell having no transmission in the subframe carrying the PHR to apredetermined value. The UE determines the P_(CMAX) such that the PUSCHtransmission power fulfills the spurious emission requirement for thecell having a transmission in the subframe carrying the PHR.

Next, in step 630, the UE calculates the PHs for the cells that arePHR-triggered or for the cells for which PHs are reported. The PH is thedifference between the P_(CMAX) determined at step 625 and the PUSCHtransmission power calculated at step 620. Next, the UE determines thearrangement order of the PHs for the cells in the payload of the PHR MACCE in step 635. For example, the UE can arrange the PHs in ascendingorder according to the cell index. Next, the UE determines the cells forwhich the P_(CMAX) is reported and the cells for which no P_(CMAX)information is reported from among the cells for which PH is reported.At this time, the UE always reports the P_(CMAX) for the PCell andreports the P_(CMAX) for the rest cells only when the followingconditions are not met. The below conditions are referred to as P_(CMAX)report skip conditions.

The first P_(CMAX) report skip condition is to skip the P_(CMAX) reportwhen the P_(CMAX) of a certain cell is equal to the P_(CMAX) of the cellproceeding the current cell in the PH reporting order from among thecells for which P_(CMAX) is reported, or, otherwise, to perform theP_(CMAX) report. The second P_(CMAX) report skip condition is to skipthe P_(CMAX) report when the PH of a certain cell is calculated with thePH calculation scheme 1 and, otherwise, to perform the P_(CMAX) reportwhen the PH is calculated with the PH calculation scheme 2. The thirdP_(CMAX) report skip condition is to skip the P_(CMAX) report when oneof the first and second P_(CMAX) report skip conditions is fulfilled andto perform the P_(CMAX) report when both the first and second P_(CMAX)report skip conditions are not fulfilled. The fourth P_(CMAX) reportskip condition is to skip the P_(CMAX) report when the PH of a certaincell is calculated with the PH calculation scheme 2 or the P_(CMAX) forthe corresponding cell is equal to the most recently reported P_(CMAX)for the same cell, and to perform the P_(CMAX) report when the PH of acertain cell is calculated with the PH calculation scheme 1 and theP_(CMAX) for the corresponding cell is different from the most recentlyreported P_(CMAX) for the same cell. According to the above conditions,it is determined, in step 640, for which cells the P_(CMAX) is reported.

Next, the UE sets the P bit of each cell's PH to an appropriate value instep 645. For example, if the P_(CMAX) is reported for the correspondingcell, the UE sets the P bit to 0 and, otherwise, if the P_(CMAX) is notreported for the corresponding cell, the UE sets the P bit to 1. The UEalso sets the V bit to an appropriate value in each cell. For example,if the PH for the corresponding cell is calculated with the PHcalculation scheme 1, then the UE sets the V bit of each cell's PH to 0and, otherwise if the PH for the corresponding cell is calculated withthe PH calculation scheme 2, then the UE sets the V bit of each cell'sPH to 1.

Next, in step 650, the UE arranges the PHs for the individual cells inthe payload of the PHR in the order determined at step 635. Next, instep 655, the UE arranges the P_(CMAX) information in the payload of thePHR in the PH arrangement order for the cells for which the P_(CMAX)report is determined. Finally, the UE generates a MAC sub header of thePHR MAC CE and transmits a MAC PDU encapsulating the MAC sub header andpayload in step 660.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an eNB procedure for an uplinkscheduling method according to an exemplary embodiment of presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 7, if a PHR MAC CE is received from the UE in step705, then the eNB determines whether the PHR MAC CE is a REL-8 PHR MACCE or REL-10 PHR MAC CE in step 710. If the PHR MAC CE is a REL-8 PHRMAC CE, then the eNB interprets the PH information included in the PHRMAC CE and schedules the UE in consideration of the PH so as to notcause a transmission power shortage problem in step 715. Otherwise, instep 720, if the PHR MAC CE is a REL-10 PHR MAC CE, then the eNBdetermines the P_(CMAX) of the cells whose P_(CMAX) is reportedexplicitly in the PHR MAC CE, i.e., the cells for which the P bit of thePH is set to 0. Next, in step 725, the eNB determines the P_(CMAX) ofthe cell whose P_(CMAX) is not reported in the PHR MAC CE, i.e., thecells for which the P bit of PH is set to 1.

At this time, from among the cells whose P_(CMAX) is explicitlyreported, the eNB determines the P_(CMAX) of the cell preceding andclosest to the cell for which the V bit is set to 0 in the PHR to be theP_(CMAX) of the corresponding cell. The eNB also determines apredetermined P_(CMAX), e.g., P_(CMAX_H), for the cell for which the Vbit is set to 1 as being the P_(CMAX) of the corresponding cell. Next,in step 730, the eNB interprets the PH information included in the PHRMAC CE and schedules the UE in consideration of the PH information andthe P_(CMAX) information so as to not cause a transmission powershortage.

Furthermore, the present exemplary embodiment of the present inventioncan be simplified such that, when the P_(CMAX) information for the cellsfor which the P bit is not used and the V bit is set to 0 from among thecells for which the PH and one P_(CMAX) is reported. Alternatively,individual P_(CMAX) information for the cells for which the V bit is setto 0 are transmitted separately.

With respect to the UE, the simplified UE procedure is identical to thatas depicted in FIG. 6 except for the following features. That is, the UEdetermines the cells for which P_(CMAX) information is reported and thecells for which P_(CMAX) information is not reported from among thecells for which PHs are reported. The UE does not report the P_(CMAX)for the cells for which PHs are calculated using the PH calculationscheme 2, which are the cells having no uplink transmission or the cellsusing a predetermined format for calculating the PUSCH transmissionpower. The UE checks the P_(CMAX) of the cells for which the PHs arecalculated using the PH calculation scheme 1, which are the cells havingan uplink transmission, i.e., the cells using the transmission formatactually used for calculating the PUSCH transmission power. If theP_(CMAX) information of all the cells are identical with each other,then the UE determines to include one P_(CMAX). Accordingly, it isdetermined to report only the P_(CMAX) of the PCell. If the P_(CMAX) forat least one cell differs from the P_(CMAX) for other cells, then it isdetermined to report P_(CMAX) information for the respective cells thatare calculated using the PH calculation scheme 1.

Referring to FIG. 6, in step 645, the UE sets the V bit to anappropriate value. For example, the V bit is set to 0 when the PH of thecorresponding cell is calculated using the PH calculation scheme 1, andthe V bit is set to 1 when the PH of the corresponding cell iscalculated using the PH calculation scheme 2. In a case of using thesimplified UE procedure, the P bit is not necessary. This is because thelength of the PHR payload is indicated explicitly by an L field and,thus, the eNB can determine the number of cells for which the P_(CMAX)is reported in the PHR payload by referencing the L field. Of course, itis possible to signal whether the P_(CMAX) exists by using the P bit inorder to reduce complexity at the eNB. In this case, the eNB sets boththe P bit and the V bit at step 645. Since the rest steps of the in thesimplified UE procedure are identical with those described above,detailed description thereof is omitted herein.

With respect to a simplified eNB procedure, except for the followingfeatures, the simplified eNB procedure is identical with the proceduredepicted in FIG. 7. That is, the eNB determines the P_(CMAX) for thecells for which the P_(CMAX) is not explicitly reported. If one P_(CMAX)is reported, then the eNB determines the P_(CMAX) for all the cells forwhich the V bit is set to 0 as the reported by the P_(CMAX). If multipleP_(CMAX) information are reported, the eNB determines the P_(CMAX)reported in PH-reporting order of the cells for which the V bit is setto 0. The eNB determines the P_(CMAX) information for the cells forwhich the V bit is set to 1 as a predetermined value, e.g., P_(CMAX_H).Since the rest of the steps simplified eNB procedure are identical tothose described above, detailed description thereof is omitted herein.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a UE accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the UE, according to the present exemplaryembodiment, includes a transceiver 805, a controller 810, amultiplexer/demultiplexer 820, a control message processor 835, and aplurality higher layer devices 825 and 830.

The transceiver 805 receives data and control signals on a downlinkcarrier and transmits data and control signals on uplink carrier. In acase where multiple carriers are configured, the transceiver 805 cantransmit/receive the data and control signals on multiple subcarriers.

The multiplexer/demultiplexer 820 multiplexes the data generated by thehigher layer devices 825 and 830 and/or the control message processor835 and outputs the multiplexed signal to the transceiver 805. Themultiplexer/demultiplexer 820 also demultiplexes the data received bythe transceiver 805 and delivers the demultiplexed data to the higherlayer devices 825 and 830, the control message processor 835, and or/thecontroller 810.

The control message processor 835 processes the control messagetransmitted via the network and takes an action in response to thecontrol message. The control message processor 835 transfers a parameter(e.g., P_(EMAX)), which is included in the control message and which isnecessary for determining P_(CMAX), to the controller 810. The controlmessage processor 835 also notifies the controller 810 of whether theREL-10 PHR is used.

The higher layer devices 825 and 830 are configured to be responsiblefor the respective services so as to process the data of user services,such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and VoIP, and deliver the processeddata to the multiplexer/demultiplexer 820. The higher layer devices 825and 830 process the data from the multiplexer/demultiplexer 820 anddeliver the processed data to higher layer service applications.

The controller 810 analyses a scheduling command, e.g., an uplink grant,received through the transceiver 805 and controls the transceiver 805and the multiplexer/demultiplexer 820 to perform uplink transmissionusing appropriate transmission resources at an appropriate time point.The controller 810 controls the P_(CMAX) reporting process when apredetermined condition is fulfilled. For example, if the PHR istriggered in a state where the REL-10 PHR function is activated, thecontroller 810 then starts the P_(CMAX) reporting process. At this time,the control unit 810 calculates the PHs for the cells in an active stateand determines an arrangement order of the PHs in the payload of the PHRMAC CE. The controller 810 also determines the cells for which P_(CMAX)is to be reported from among the cells for which the PH is reported, andthen sets the P bit of each PH to an appropriate value depending onwhether the P_(CMAX) exists. The controller 810 transfers the payload ofthe PHR MAC CE to the multiplexer/demultiplexer 820.

Although not shown, the controller 801 includes a power calculator and areport processor. The power calculator calculates a PUSCH transmissionpower requested for each cell, determines a P_(CMAX) per cell for thePUSCH transmission, and calculates a PH per cell based on the differencebetween the PUSCH transmission power and the P_(CMAX). The reportprocessor generates the PHR MAC CE including the P_(CMAX) and the PH.

For this purpose, the report processor determines a position of each PHin the PHR MAC CE according to the priority order of the cells andplaces the PHs at their respective positions in the PHR MAC CE. Thereport processor also determines whether to encapsulate the P_(CMAX) ofeach cell in the PHR MAC CE and, if it is determined to encapsulate theP_(CMAX) of at least one cell, the report processor arranges theP_(CMAX) of the at least one cell so as to follow the PH in the PHR MACCE. Here, the PHR MAC CE is configured per cell and includes fields forindicating whether the PH and the P_(CMAX) are carried and whether thePUSCH transmission occurs. The report processor also determines whetherto perform the PUSCH transmission per cell and, if it is determined toperform the PUSCH transmission for at least one cell, encapsulates theP_(CMAX) for the at least one cell while excluding the P_(CMAX) for therest cells.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an eNBaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, the eNB includes a transceiver 905, a controller910, a multiplexer/demultiplexer 920, a control message processor 935, aplurality of higher layer devices 925 and 930, and a scheduler 915.

The transceiver 905 transmits data and controls signals on a downlinkcarrier and receives data and control signals on an uplink carrier. In acase where multiple carriers are configured, the transceiver 905 cantransmit/receive the data and control signals on the multiple carriers.

The multiplexer/demultiplexer 920 multiplexes the data generated by thehigher layer devices 925 and 930 and/or the control message processor935. The multiplexer/demultiplexer 920 also demultiplexes the datareceived from the transceiver 905 and delivers the demultiplexed data tothe higher layer device 925 and 930, the control message processor 935,and/or the controller 910.

The control message processor 935 processes the control messagetransmitted by a UE and takes an action in response to the controlmessage or generates a control message to be transmitted to a terminal,or UE, to lower layers of a communication protocol or lower layerdevices. For example, the control message processor 935 transfers the PPowerClass information transmitted by the UE to the controller 910.

The higher layer devices 925 and 930 are configured to be responsiblefor respective user services so as to process the data of the userservices, such as FTP and VoIP, and delivers the processed data to themultiplexer/demultiplexer 920. The higher layer devices 925 and 930process the data from the multiplexer/demultiplexer 920 and deliver theprocessed data to higher layer service applications.

The controller 910 processes the PHR MAC CE transmitted by the UE, andtransfers scheduling-related information to the scheduler 915. Forexample, the controller 910 analyses the PHR received from the UE andnotifies the scheduler 915 of the PH of the UE. The controller 910determines the maximum transmission resource amount and coding rateavailable for the UE using the PH and the P_(CMAX) reported in the PHRand notifies the scheduler 915 of the determined values. The controller910 controls the multiplexer/demultiplexer 920 in order to generatedownlink data provided to the transceiver 905 according to thescheduling information provided by the scheduler 915.

If the PHR MAC CE is received from the UE, the control unit 910 analyzesthe PHR MAC CE and determines the P_(CMAX) appropriate for the PUSCHtransmission power of the UE and determines the PH for each cellaccording to the difference between the PUSCH transmission power and theP_(CMAX) of each cell. At this time, the controller 910 determines theposition of the PH depending on priority order of the cells in the PHRMAC CE and checks the PH at the determined position. The controller 910also determines whether the P_(CMAX) for each cell is included in thePHR MAC CE and, if P_(CMAX) for at least one cell is included,determines the P_(CMAX). Alternatively, if no other P_(CMAX) for theremaining cells is included, the controller 910 determines the P_(CMAX)for the remaining cells according to the included P_(CMAX). Here, thePHR MAC CE is configured on a per cell basis and includes informationfor indicating whether the PH and the P_(CMAX) are included and whetherthe PUSCH transmission occurs. If it is determined that there is noPUSCH transmission in at least one cell, the controller 910 uses apredetermined value for the cell having no PUSCH transmission asP_(CMAX).

The scheduler 915 is responsible for allocating transmission resourcesto a UE in consideration of a buffer state, a channel state, and a powerheadroom state of the UE. The scheduler 915 controls the transceiver 905so as to process the signal received from UE and in order to transit asignal to the UE. At this time, the scheduler 915 performs schedulingfor the PUSCH transmission of the UE such that the PUSCH transmissionpower does not exceed the P_(CMAX) according to the PH.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a PHR mace CE foruse in an uplink scheduling method according to an exemplary embodimentof the present invention.

The exemplary embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 10,provides a method and apparatus for selecting a PHR format according thecondition of the UE.

Referring to FIG. 10, if a REL-10 PHR is configured, the UE encapsulatesthe following information in a PHR MAC CE 1020. That is, the PHR MAC CE1020 includes a bitmap 1025, a type 2 PH 1030 for the PCell, a type 1 PH1040 for the PCell 1040, type 1 PHs 1050 and 1060 for the SCells, andP_(CMAX) information 1035, 1045, 1055, and 1065.

The bitmap 1025 is information indicating whether PH information for theSCell is included in the PHR MAC CE. The type 2 PH 1030 for PCellindicates the type 2 PH for the PCell. A Type 2 PH is the value obtainedby subtracting the PUSCH transmission power and a Physical UplinkControl Channel (PUCCH) transmission power from the maximum transmissionpower. The Type 2 PH is for scheduling the PUSCH and the PUCCHtransmissions of the UE. A type 1 PH is the value obtained bysubtracting the PUSCH transmission power from the maximum transmissionpower. The type 1 PHs 1050 and 1060 for SCells are the type 1 PHs forSCells that are in an active state at a time when the PHR is generated.The P_(CMAX) information 1035, 1045, 1055, and 1065 indicate the maximumtransmission power used for calculating the PHs. Here, when the PHs arecalculated with the PH calculation scheme 2, then the P_(CMAX)information 1035, 1045, 1055, and 1065 can be omitted.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 10, a MAC sub header 1005 corresponding tothe PHR MAC CE 1020 includes an LCID field 101 and an L field 1015,wherein the L field indicates a size of the PHR MAC CE 1020.

Referring to FIG. 10, the present invention is not limited thereto, andsome of the information may unnecessary. For example, if no SCell isconfigured or the SCell is configured without an uplink for the UE whilethe REL-10 PHR is configured, then the uplink transmission of the UEoccurs in the PCell, such that there is no need to report the type 1 PHs1050 and 1060 for SCells. Since there is no need to report the type 1PHs 1050 and 1060 for SCells, it is also unnecessary to transmit thebitmap 1025. The length of a PHR MAC CE is variable according to anumber of the type 1 PHs 1050 and 1060 for SCells that are reported. Ina case where no type 1 PHs for SCells are reported, then the length ofthe PHR MAC CE is not variable, and thus the L field 1015 is notnecessary in the MAC sub header 1005. The type 2 PH 1030 for PCell isused for when the UE can perform the PUSCH transmission and the PUCCHtransmission simultaneously, and as such, it is only necessary for thesimultaneous transmission of the PUSCH and the PUCCH transmissions.

The present exemplary embodiment of the present invention relates to themethod for configuring the L field, the bitmap, and the type 2 PH forPCell selectively. That is, some of the fields depicted in FIG. 10, suchas the L field, the bitmap field, and the type 2 PH field, are setdepending on the situation.

FIG. 11 is a signaling diagram illustrating uplink signaling procedurebetween a UE and an eNB according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 11, the UE 1105 reports its capability information tothe eNB 1110 through a predetermined RRC message signaling in step 1115.For example, the RRC message includes the information on whether thePUSCH and the PUCCH are transmitted simultaneously and the number ofSCells that can be accumulated on a frequency band.

Next, the eNB 1110 configures the function related to the REL-10 PHR forthe UE 1105 in consideration of the capability information and trafficcondition of the UE 1105 and a load state of the cell. The eNB 1110 cantransmit an RRC connection reconfiguration message to the UE 1105 inorder to configure the SCell for the UE 1105 in step 1120. A SCell canbe configured with only a downlink channel (hereinafter, such a cell isreferred to as a downlink SCell) or both a downlink and an uplinkchannel (hereinafter, such a cell is referred to as a downlink/uplinkSCell). If the UE 1105 operates mainly with the downlink traffic, theeNB 1110 assign a downlink SCell to the UE 1105. If the UE 1105 operatesapproximately equally with the downlink and uplink traffic, then the eNB1110 assigns a downlink/uplink SCell to the UE 1105. The eNB 1110 alsonotifies the UE 1105 of whether the PUCCH/PUSCH parallel transmission isallowed for the UE 1105 and whether the REL-10 PHR is configured. ThePUCCH/PUSCH parallel transmission is configured for the UE 1105 having agood channel condition from among UEs reported have the capability forthe PUCCH/PUSCH parallel transmission.

The UE 1105 performs a connection reconfiguration according to aninstruction in a RRC connection reconfiguration message. Afterward, if aPHR is triggered at a time point in step 1125, then the UE 1105generates a PHR in step 1130 and transmit the PHR to the eNB 1110 instep 1135. At this time, the PHR format, which determines the fields tobe included in PHR, is determined depending on whether the REL-10 PHRfunction is configured for the UE 1105, whether at least one SCell usingan uplink channel is configured for the UE 1105, and whether the UE 1105can perform the PUCCH/PUSCH parallel transmission. If the REL-10 PHRfunction is not configured for the UE 1105, then the UE 1105encapsulates the type 1 PH for PCell in the PHR MAC CE. If the REL-10PHR function is configured for the UE 1105, then the UE encapsulates thefollowing information in addition to the type 1 PH and the P_(CMAX) forPCell in the PHR according to a situation or state of the UE 1105.

If a downlink/uplink SCell is configured and if the PUCCH/PUSCH paralleltransmission is configured, then the UE 1105 enables the L field in thePHR MAC CE sub-header and the bit map, the type 2 PH for PCell, and thetype 1 PHs for SCells in the PHR MAC CE. If the downlink/uplink SCell isconfigured and if the PUCCH/PUSCH parallel transmission is notconfigured, the UE 1105 enables the L field in the PHR MAC CE sub-headerand the bit map and enables type 1 PHs for SCells in the PHR MAC CE.Whereas, if no downlink/uplink SCell is configured, and if thePUCCH/PUSCH parallel transmission is configured, then the UE 1105disables the L field in the PHR MAC CE sub-header and enables the type 2PH for PCell in the PHR MAC CE. If the downlink/uplink SCell is notconfigured and if the PUCCH/PUSCH parallel transmission is notconfigured, then the UE 1105 enables only the basic information fieldsof the PHR MAC CE sub-header and the PHR MAC CE.

That is, the UE 1105 determines whether to enable the L field and bitmapaccording to whether the downlink/uplink SCell is configured. The UE1105 also determines whether to enable the type 2 PH for PCell accordingto whether the PUCCH/PUSCH parallel transmission is configured.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a UE procedure for uplink schedulingmethod according to the second exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 12, a UE configures the REL-10 PHR function in step1205. The REL-10 PHR function is an extended PHR function, which differsfrom the REL-8 PHR function in format and type of information reported,and can be configured through RRC control message signaling foractivating the REL-10 technology. Next, the UE waits until a PHRgeneration condition is fulfilled while performing a predeterminedoperation. The PHR generation condition is fulfilled when there aretransmission resources available for a new uplink transmission, a timerrestricting PHR transmission has expired or is currently running, and apath loss of at least one cell from among the cells fulfilling apredetermined condition changes to be over a predetermined thresholdvalue.

Here, the cell fulfilling the PHR generation condition is a cellreporting the power headroom from among the cells in an active state,i.e., the SCell that is configured as a path loss reference cell of thePCell. The path loss reference cell is the cell that is referred to whencalculating the uplink transmission power as specified in the 3GPP TSs36.331 and 36.213.

Next, if the PHR is triggered at a certain time point, or in otherwords, if the PHR generation condition is met in step 1210, then the UEdetermines the information to be included in the PHR in step 1215. Inother words, the UE determines whether an uplink SCell is configured atstep 1215. If no downlink/uplink SCell is configured, or in other words,if a downlink SCell is configured for the UE, then the UE disables the Lfield in the PHR MAC CE sub-header and the bitmap in the PHR MAC CE, andthe procedure goes to step 1230. If a downlink/uplink SCell isconfigured, then the procedure goes to step 1220.

At step 1220, the UE includes the L field in the MAC sub-header whichindicates the length of the PHR MAC CE. The length of the PHR MAC CE isdetermined by a number of SCells supporting uplink transmission fromamong the SCells in an active state, a number of P_(CMAX) information,and whether the type 2 PHs exist, at the time point when the PHR isgenerated. Next, the UE determines the SCells for which PHs are reportedin the PHR, generates a bitmap in which the bits corresponding to thecell identifiers of the SCells are set to 1, and inserts the bitmap inthe first byte of the PHR MAC CE in step 1225. Here, the bitmap iscomposed of 8 bits of which the most significant bit is used as a cellidentifier 7, the next most significant bit is used as a cell identifier6, and so one, wherein the least significant bit is used as a cellidentifier 1. That is, the bit positions of the bitmap respectivelycorrespond to the cell identifiers.

Next, the UE determines whether the PUCCH/PUSCH parallel transmission isconfigured in step 1230. If the PUCCH/PUSCH parallel transmission isconfigured, then the UE arranges the type 2 PHs for PCells in the firstbyte, when no bitmap exists, or the second byte, when the bitmap exists,of the PHR MAC CE in step 1235, and the procedure goes to step 1240.Otherwise, at step 1230, if it is determined that the PUCCH/PUSCHparallel transmission is not configured, then the procedure goes to step1240. At step 1240, the UE generates the PHR MAC CE by inserting thetype 1 PH for PCell and other necessary information, such as theP_(CMAX) and the type 1 PHs for the SCells when an active SCellsupporting uplink transmission exists. Finally, the UE transmits the PHRMAC CE in step 1245.

The configuration of the UE according to the present exemplaryembodiment of the present invention is similar to that as depicted inFIG. 8 except for the controller 810. The controller 810 of the UEaccording to the present embodiment of the present invention analyzesthe scheduling command, i.e., the uplink grant, that is received throughthe transceiver 805 and controls the transceiver 805 and themultiplexer/demultiplexer 820 to perform uplink transmission onappropriate transmission resources at appropriate time points. If thePHR trigger condition is fulfilled, the controller 810 controls PHRprocedure. In such a case, the controller 810 determines whether toinclude the L field, a bitmap, and type 2 PHs of PCells according towhether the downlink/uplink cell is configured and whether thePUCCH/PUSCH parallel transmission is configured. The controller 810 thengenerates the payload of PHR MAC CE, and transfers the payload of PHRMAC CE to the multiplexer/demultiplexer 820.

As described above, the uplink scheduling apparatus and method asdescribed in the exemplary embodiments of the present invention iscapable of reducing the power headroom report overhead, resulting in animprovement of eNB's scheduling efficiency and a reduction ofinterference with other uplink transmissions.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference tocertain exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method by a terminal in a wirelesscommunication system, the method comprising: receiving, from a basestation, a radio resource control (RRC) message for configuring a powerheadroom report (PHR); identifying whether the PHR is triggered; in casethat the PHR is triggered and more than one activated serving cells withconfigured uplink is configured: obtaining a first type power headroom(PH) per each of the activated serving cells and a second type PH for aprimary cell (PCell); and transmitting, to the base station, a PHRincluding the first type PH per each of the activated serving cells andthe second type PH for the PCell and an indicator indicating whether amaximum transmission power associated with a corresponding one of thefirst type PH or the second type PH is included in the PHR.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: in case that the PHR is triggeredand one activated serving cell is configured: obtaining the first typePH for the one activated serving cell; and transmitting, to the basestation, a PHR including the first type PH for the one activated servingcell.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the PHR, including the firsttype PH for the one activated serving cell, further includes a maximumtransmission power used for a calculation of the first type PH for theone activated serving cell without the indicator.
 4. The method of claim1, wherein a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) reference format isused for obtaining the corresponding one of the first type PH or thesecond type PH and the maximum transmission power is omitted in the PHR,when the corresponding one of the first type PH or the second type PH isnot based on a real transmission, wherein a real PUSCH transmissionpower is used for obtaining the corresponding one of the first type PHor the second type PH and the maximum transmission power is included inthe PHR, when the corresponding one of the first type PH or the secondtype PH is based on the real transmission, and wherein at least one of afirst parameter related to a number of assigned transmission resourcesand a second parameter related to a modulation coding scheme (MCS) leveris 0, when the PUSCH reference format is used.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the second type PH for the PCell is contained first in the PHR,and the first type PH per each of the activated serving cells arecontained in the PHR in ascending order based on an cell index of theactivated serving cells.
 6. A terminal in a wireless communicationsystem, the terminal comprising: a transceiver; and a controller coupledwith the transceiver and configured to: receive, from a base station, aradio resource control (RRC) message for configuring a power headroomreport (PHR), identify whether the PHR is triggered, and in case thatthe PHR is triggered and more than one activated serving cells withconfigured uplink is configured: obtain a first type power headroom (PH)per each of the activated serving cells and a second type PH for aprimary cell (PCell), and transmit, to the base station, a PHR includingthe first type PH per each of the activated serving cells and the secondtype PH for the PCell and an indicator indicating whether a maximumtransmission power associated with a corresponding one of the first typePH or the second type PH is included in the PHR.
 7. The terminal ofclaim 6, wherein the controller is further configured to, in case thatthe PHR is triggered and one activated serving cell is configured:obtain the first type PH for the one activated serving cell, andtransmit, to the base station, a PHR including the first type PH for theone activated serving cell.
 8. The terminal of claim 7, wherein the PHRincluding the first type PH for the one activated serving cell, furtherincludes a maximum transmission power used for a calculation of thefirst type PH for the one activated serving cell without the indicator.9. The terminal of claim 6, wherein a physical uplink shared channel(PUSCH) reference format is used for obtaining the corresponding one ofthe first type PH or the second type PH and the maximum transmissionpower is omitted in the PHR, when the corresponding one of the firsttype PH or the second type PH wherein a real PUSCH transmission power isused for obtaining the corresponding one of the first type PH or thesecond type PH and the maximum transmission power is included in thePHR, when the corresponding one of the first type PH or the second typePH is based on the real transmission, and wherein at least one of afirst parameter related to a number of assigned transmission resourcesand a second parameter related to a modulation coding scheme (MCS) leveris 0, when the PUSCH reference format is used.
 10. The terminal of claim6, wherein the second type PH for the PCell is contained first in thePHR, and the first type PH per each of the activated serving cells arecontained in the PHR in ascending order based on an cell index of theactivated serving cells.
 11. A method by a base station in a wirelesscommunication system, the method comprising: transmitting, to aterminal, a radio resource control (RRC) message for configuring a powerheadroom report (PHR); and receiving, from the terminal, a PHR in casethat the PHR is triggered and more than one activated serving cells withconfigured uplink is configured for the terminal, wherein the PHRincludes a first type power headroom (PH) per each of the activatedserving cells, a second type PH for a primary cell (PCell) and anindicator indicating whether a maximum transmission power associatedwith a corresponding one of the first type PH or the second type PH isincluded in the PHR.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:receiving, from the terminal, a PHR including a first type PH for theone activated serving cell, in case that the PHR is triggered and oneactivated serving cell is configured.
 13. The method of claim 12,wherein the PHR, including the first type PH for the one activatedserving cell, further includes a maximum transmission power used for acalculation of the first type PH for the one activated serving cellwithout the indicator.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein a physicaluplink shared channel (PUSCH) reference format is used for obtaining thecorresponding one of the first type PH or the second type PH and themaximum transmission power is omitted in the PHR, when the correspondingone of the first type PH or the second type PH is not based on a realtransmission, wherein a real PUSCH transmission power is used forobtaining the corresponding one of the first type PH or the second typePH and the maximum transmission power is included in the PHR, when thecorresponding one of the first type PH or the second type PH is based onthe real transmission, and wherein at least one of a first parameterrelated to a number of assigned transmission resources and a secondparameter related to a modulation coding scheme (MCS) lever is 0, whenthe PUSCH reference format is used.
 15. The method of claim 11, whereinthe second type PH for the PCell is contained first in the PHR, and thefirst type PH per each of the activated serving cells are contained inthe PHR in ascending order based on an cell index of the activatedserving cells.
 16. A base station in a wireless communication system,the base station comprising: a transceiver; and a controller coupledwith the transceiver and configured to: transmit, to a terminal, a radioresource control (RRC) message for configuring a power headroom report(PHR), and receive, from the terminal, a PHR in case that the PHR istriggered and more than one activated serving cells with configureduplink is configured for the terminal, wherein the PHR includes a firsttype power headroom (PH) per each of the activated serving cells, asecond type PH for a primary cell (PCell) and an indicator indicatingwhether a maximum transmission power associated with a corresponding oneof the first type PH or the second type PH is included in the PHR. 17.The base station of claim 16, wherein the controller is furtherconfigured to receive, from the terminal, a PHR including a first typePH for the one activated serving cell, in case that the PHR is triggeredand one activated serving cell is configured.
 18. The base station ofclaim 17, wherein the PHR, including the first type PH for the oneactivated serving cell, further includes a maximum transmission powerused for a calculation of the first type PH for the one activatedserving cell without the indicator.
 19. The base station of claim 16,wherein a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) reference format isused for obtaining the corresponding one of the first type PH or thesecond type PH and the maximum transmission power is omitted in the PHR,when the corresponding one of the first type PH or the second type PH isnot based on a real transmission, wherein a real PUSCH transmissionpower is used for obtaining the corresponding one of the first type PHor the second type PH and the maximum transmission power is included inthe PHR, when the corresponding one of the first type PH or the secondtype PH is based on the real transmission, and wherein at least one of afirst parameter related to a number of assigned transmission resourcesand a second parameter related to a modulation coding scheme (MCS) leveris 0, when the PUSCH reference format is used.
 20. The base station ofclaim 16, wherein the second type PH for the PCell is contained first inthe PHR, and the first type PH per each of the activated serving cellsare contained in the PHR in ascending order based on an cell index ofthe activated serving cells.